Review: Dry by Neal Shusterman

Title: Dry

Author: Neal and Jarrod Shusterman

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Publishing Date: October 2nd, 2018 

Pages: 390
Audio Length: 11 Hours and 6 Minutes

Genre: YA Sci-Fi Apocalyptic

Series: Standalone

Source: Audio

 

When the California drought escalates to catastrophic proportions, one teen is forced to make life and death decisions for her family in this harrowing story of survival from New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman.
The drought—or the Tap-Out, as everyone calls it—has been going on for a while now. Everyone’s lives have become an endless list of don’ts: don’t water the lawn, don’t fill up your pool, don’t take long showers.
Until the taps run dry.
Suddenly, Alyssa’s quiet suburban street spirals into a warzone of desperation; neighbors and families turned against each other on the hunt for water. And when her parents don’t return and her life—and the life of her brother—is threatened, Alyssa has to make impossible choices if she’s going to survive

What made me pick this book up:

John actually saw it first and wanted to read it. So I got it for him. 

What did I like about the cover: 

I don't actually care for this cover. I mean, it's okay. It matches okay. It's also really bright. 

What made me read this book: 

I love anything apocalyptic, about survival, world ending, etc. And I've read a few of his works and loved them. 

What did I like the most: 

I think my favorite part is the story. The idea of running out of water. Of it just not being accessible anymore. It's terrifying. Completely and utterly terrifying.

This book leaves me thirsty. Like I want to preserve water as much as I can. I think that's a good book when it leaves you like that. There's only one book I can think of that made me feel that way, and it was with food. That book was Life as We Knew It. Which was really good. 

One of my favorite things, like with most of Shusterman's books, is that it is written well. In the fact that he's very descriptive. You can literally picture the world and everything as it's happening. This is the first Shusterman book I've listened to as opposed to reading and I think that's really interesting.

It's like putting a movie in front of me. Because of the descriptions he provides and the voice telling it to me. 

The characters to me were just kind of meh. I didn't really care for any of them except for her little brother who I really liked. I didn't want anything to happen to him and I found myself oddly protective of him. 

I also liked the part where I didn't know who to trust and who was screwing who. 

What didn't I like: 

I felt like this one took forever to get going. It was over halfway before anything of interest actually happened. I felt like there was just way too much slow build up. 

I was also super confused by the characters. I kept getting some of them mixed up. It was driving me crazy. There was two specific characters, both guys. One was her neighbor and one was just some guy. I guess. 

Like I said though. The characters were all just kind of meh. I didn't care if they lived or died.  

Would I read the rest of the series/more from this author?
Absolutely, I've already read quite a few by him and loved them. 

Just meh. It took half the book before anything of interest happened. I expect a lot more. 

“People can be monsters. Whether it's just their actions, or whether it's who they really are, it doesn't matter. The result is the same.” 
― Neal Shusterman, Dry

Award-winning author Neal Shusterman grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he began writing at an early age. After spending his junior and senior years of high school at the American School of Mexico City, Neal went on to UC Irvine, where he made his mark on the UCI swim team, and wrote a successful humor column. Within a year of graduating, he had his first book deal, and was hired to write a movie script.
In the years since, Neal has made his mark as a successful novelist, screenwriter, and television writer. As a full-time writer, he claims to be his own hardest task-master, always at work creating new stories to tell. His books have received many awards from organizations such as the International Reading Association, and the American Library Association, as well as garnering a myriad of state and local awards across the country. Neal's talents range from film directing (two short films he directed won him the coveted CINE Golden Eagle Awards) to writing music and stage plays – including book and lyrical contributions to “American Twistory,” which is currently playing in Boston. He has even tried his hand at creating Games, having developed three successful "How to Host a Mystery" game for teens, as well as seven "How to Host a Murder" games.
As a screen and TV writer, Neal has written for the "Goosebumps" and “Animorphs” TV series, and wrote the Disney Channel Original Movie “Pixel Perfect”. Currently Neal is adapting his novel Everlost as a feature film for Universal Studios.

Wherever Neal goes, he quickly earns a reputation as a storyteller and dynamic speaker. Much of his fiction is traceable back to stories he tells to large audiences of children and teenagers -- such as his novel The Eyes of Kid Midas. As a speaker, Neal is in constant demand at schools and conferences. Degrees in both psychology and drama give Neal a unique approach to writing. Neal's novels always deal with topics that appeal to adults as well as teens, weaving true-to-life characters into sensitive and riveting issues, and binding it all together with a unique and entertaining sense of humor.